Blue Bird to Buy Detroit Chassis Plant Assets in Ford Tie-Up
Blue Bird agreed to acquire the assets of Detroit Chassis LLC's Detroit Assembly Plant as part of an expanded collaboration with Ford, a move it says opens $1.4 billion of new addressable market.
Blue Bird Corporation (BLBD) agreed to acquire the assets of Detroit Chassis LLC's Detroit Assembly Plant, an asset-purchase deal tied to a broader collaboration with Ford Motor Company to design, manufacture and sell the next-generation F53/59 commercial stripped chassis.
Blue Bird plans to invest $90 million in the effort in 2027, including roughly $50 million of capital expenditure. Detroit Chassis currently assembles the existing F53/59 stripped chassis for Ford. Production of the next-generation platform, which will integrate Ford's next-generation medium-duty gas powertrain, is expected to begin in early 2028, shortly after the current chassis line ends production.
Blue Bird said the collaboration diversifies its product portfolio and broadens its addressable market by $1.4 billion, building on decades of experience designing and manufacturing purpose-built vehicle platforms. "Ford has built an exceptional history in the commercial stripped chassis market, and we are honored to build on that foundation through our expanded collaboration," said John Wyskiel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Bird Corporation.
The deal follows Blue Bird's push to widen its footprint beyond the school bus market it has led since 1927. Earlier in 2026 the company completed its acquisition of Girardin Group's remaining stake in the Micro Bird joint venture, a roughly $200 million transaction funded with 30% cash and 70% Blue Bird stock, which consolidated the company's North American operations under one brand and expanded its reach into the Buy America-compliant shuttle bus segment. The Ford collaboration extends that same strategy of stacking adjacent vehicle platforms onto Blue Bird's existing manufacturing base, this time in the commercial stripped-chassis market rather than school or shuttle buses.
Blue Bird disclosed the Detroit Chassis transaction alongside its fiscal 2026 third-quarter results, in which net sales rose to $517.2 million and Adjusted EBITDA reached $71.4 million, a 14% margin, including the consolidated contribution from Micro Bird. Chief Financial Officer Razvan Radulescu said the company is raising its full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA guidance to approximately $247 million on net revenue of about $1.75 billion, and is lifting its long-term profit outlook to reflect the expanded Ford collaboration and the Detroit Assembly Plant purchase, targeting 2030-plus Adjusted EBITDA of $500 million or more, a margin of 15% or higher, on $3.3 billion in revenue.
The transaction is anticipated to close in early 2027, shortly after the current F53/59 chassis ends production, with next-generation chassis output slated to begin in early 2028.